The Latest: Trump: It’s ‘a shame’ nation had to endure probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and the special counsel’s Russia investigation. (all times Eastern time):
4:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump is touting the Justice Department’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller findings, saying “it was a shame” the nation had to go through the investigation.
Trump claims the report found “there was no collusion with Russia, there was no obstruction.” In fact, Mueller did not make a determination on whether Trump committed obstruction of justice in the Russia probe. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein determined that evidence gathered by Mueller was insufficient.
The summary does say Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates “conspired or coordinated” with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election.
Trump is also lashing out at the investigation, claiming without evidence that it was “an illegal takedown that failed.”
Trump spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from a weekend at his private club in Florida.
___
4:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump is claiming “Complete and Total EXONERATION” in a celebratory tweet following the release of a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Trump writes, “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!” as he heads to the airport in Florida, where he’s spent the weekend.
The Justice Department said Sunday that Mueller’s investigation did not find evidence that Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mueller also investigated whether Trump obstructed justice, but did not come to a definitive answer.
But Attorney General William Barr says in a four-page letter to Congress that Mueller’s report “does not exonerate” the president on obstruction and instead “sets out evidence on both sides of the question.”
___
4:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump’s eldest son says a summary of the special counsel’s findings “proves what those of us with sane minds knew all along.”
Donald Trump Jr. issued a statement Sunday saying that a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings proves that there “was zero collusion with Russia.”
The summary by Attorney General William Barr says Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates “conspired or coordinated” with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election. It also says that Mueller did not exonerate the president of obstruction of justice or find that he committed a crime.
Trump Jr. has come under scrutiny during the investigation, for helping arrange a Trump Tower meeting at the height of the 2016 campaign with a Kremlin-linked lawyer.
___
4:40 p.m.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he will call Attorney General William Barr in to testify “in the near future.”
New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler tweeted that he will ask Barr to testify “in light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making” at the Justice Department.
As described in a report from Barr to Congress, Mueller’s investigation left open the question of whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice. Barr said he determined the evidence is not sufficient to establish that Trump committed an offense.
Nadler tweeted that after Mueller worked for 22 months, “Attorney General Barr took 2 days to tell the American people that while the President is not exonerated, there will be no action by DOJ.”
___
4:35 p.m.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin has not yet seen the summary of the U.S. special counsel’s report on the investigation into whether the Trump administration colluded with Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Sunday night after the Justice Department released the summary. “We are not familiar with the report.”
Attorney General William Barr’s letter to Congress said Mueller did not find evidence that Trump or his campaign knowingly coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.
___
4:28 p.m.
The White House claims the Justice Department letter summarizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s report is a “complete exoneration” of President Donald Trump.
In a statement, press secretary Sarah Sanders says Mueller “did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction.”
In fact, Mueller did not make a determination on whether Trump committed obstruction of justice in the Russia probe. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein determined evidence gathered by Mueller was insufficient.
Barr’s letter to Congress did say Mueller did not find evidence that Trump or his campaign knowingly coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.
___
4:26 p.m.
White House officials are celebrating the release of the Justice Department’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings that he “did not establish” that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government.
Director of Oval Office operations Madeleine Westerhout adds on Twitter: “How many tens of millions of dollars did the American taxpayers have to pay to find out what everyone already knew.”
Eric Trump, the president’s son, is calling for a “simple apology” from the media for “the hell everyone has been put through” during the two-year probe.
In fact, Mueller did not make a determination on whether Trump committed obstruction of justice in the Russia probe.
___
4:20 p.m.
Attorney General William Barr’s letter summarizing the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller was released to Congress and the public without any input from Mueller.
A senior Justice Department official says Mueller was not consulted about the letter. The official was not authorized to be identified and spoke on condition of anonymity.
—Associated Press writer Eric Tucker.
___
4:18 p.m.
The Justice Department gave the White House a heads-up about the letter summarizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings in the Russia investigation.
A senior Justice official says the attorney general’s chief of staff called White House lawyer Emmet Flood at 3 p.m. Sunday and gave him a “readout” of the letter, which came out about a half-hour later. The official further says the letter was put together by Barr and the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein.
The official was not authorized to be identified and spoke on condition of anonymity.
— Associated Press Writer Eric Tucker.
___
4:15 p.m.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham says “the cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed” by special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Graham, a close ally of Trump, also says it is “a bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down.”
A summary of Mueller’s findings released Sunday says Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates “conspired or coordinated” with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election. It also says that Mueller did not exonerate President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice or find that he committed a crime.
Top House Judiciary Republican Doug Collins said “there is no constitutional crisis.” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said “it is time we move on for the good of the nation.”
___
4:10 p.m.
The House Judiciary Committee chairman says special counsel Robert Mueller “clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the president.”
Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler tweeted that Attorney General William Barr’s letter to Congress says that while President Donald Trump may have acted to obstruct justice, the government would need to prove that “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
But Nadler tweeted Congress must hear from Barr about his decision making and see “all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts.”
___
4 p.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and executed nearly 500 search warrants in its probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election and any potential involvement by President Donald Trump’s campaign.
That’s according to Attorney General William Barr’s letter to Congress on Sunday summarizing the findings. The special counsel employed 19 lawyers and was assisted by a team of 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants and other professional staff. The team interviewed approximately 500 witnesses.
___
3:50 p.m.
Evidence gathered in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation “is not sufficient to establish” that President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice.
That’s according to Attorney General William Barr in a letter to Congress summarizing the finding of the Mueller probe.
Barr says Mueller did not reach any conclusions in evaluating the president’s conduct, leaving it to the Justice Department.
Barr says he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein reached the conclusion without considering constitutional questions regarding bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.
___
3:46 p.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller did not exonerate President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice or find that he committed a crime.
That’s according to a summary of Mueller’s findings provided to Congress by the Justice Department.
The summary also says Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates “conspired or coordinated” with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election.
___
3:35 p.m.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says a letter from the Justice Department describing special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings “does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
The department sent the letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Sunday afternoon. Nadler tweeted that the Justice Department “determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment.”
___
3:09 p.m.
The Justice Department has told Congress to expect a summary of Robert Mueller’s findings in the Russia investigation within the hour.
That’s according to two people familiar with the Justice Department’s plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the plans.
__ By Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington.
___
1:35 p.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s “principal conclusions” in the Russia investigation are still expected to be sent to Congress on Sunday.
That’s according to a person familiar with the planned delivery of a letter from Attorney General William Barr.
Barr is expected to summarize a confidential report that Mueller turned in on Friday, concluding his 22-month investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with President Donald Trump’s campaign.
__ By Michael Balsamo and Chad Day in Washington
___
11:55 a.m.
Rep. Jim Jordan has yet to see the special counsel’s report on the Russia investigation, but the Ohio Republican insists it shows no evidence of “coordination, collusion, conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.”
Jordan tells ABC’s “This Week” that “everyone in town” was confident Robert Mueller would lead a thorough investigation.
Jordan says Mueller is seen as “right next to Jesus, he can almost walk on water, this is the guy and – and he will have the definitive statement on that fundamental question.”
He says Democrats are concerned there’ll be no “bombshell” in the report, so they’re pursing more investigations of the president.
Attorney General William Barr received Mueller’s report on Friday and says he’ll give Congress a summary as soon as this weekend.
___
10:50 a.m.
The chairman of the House intelligence committee says he trusts special counsel Robert Mueller’s judgment on who should be prosecuted following the nearly two-year Russia investigation.
But Rep. Adam Schiff of California says that doesn’t mean “there isn’t compelling and incriminating evidence that should be shared with the American people.”
Attorney General William Barr received Mueller’s report on Friday and says he’ll give Congress a summary as soon as this weekend.
Schiff says his committee wants the full report and the underlying materials made public and will head to court to compel Barr to release them.
He says the intelligence committee has an obligation to determine whether the president is compromised in any way, whether criminal or not.
Schiff spoke on ABC’s “This Week.”
___
10:05 a.m.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says Democrats won’t be willing to wait months for the Justice Department to release special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler says Congress and the public deserve to see the underlying evidence, not just a summary of conclusions, to make their own judgments. Attorney General William Barr says he’ll provide that summary as soon as this weekend.
Asked how long Democrats will be willing to wait before considering subpoenas, Nadler says, “It won’t be months.”
The New York Democrat says there has been “collusion” and “obstruction” by Trump and his associates, but “whether it’s criminal is another question.”
He stressed that while Justice Department policy is not to indict a sitting president, Congress has a broader mandate to find abuses of power.
Nadler spoke on CNN and Fox.
___
9:50 a.m.
Presidential spokesman Hogan Gidley says the White House still has not received and has not been briefed on the Russia report issued Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller.
On Sunday, Trump went to the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago resort. He sent a good morning tweet, wishing everyone a great day and another that said: “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” but so far has not commented on the release of the report.
Attorney General William Barr is reviewing the report with his advisers and will be deciding how much Congress and the American public will get to see of the two-year probe into Trump and Moscow’s efforts to elect him. Barr could release his first summary of Mueller’s findings as early as Sunday.
____
2:00 a.m.
Attorney General William Barr is preparing a summary of the findings of the special counsel investigating Russian election interference.
The release of Barr’s summary of the report’s main conclusions is expected sometime Sunday.
The White House says it hasn’t been briefed on Robert Mueller’s confidential report. The nation’s top Democrat, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has told House Democrats that a summary of conclusions won’t be enough as she pressed for the entire report.
Mueller’s 22-month investigation reached its official end on Friday, the day the report was submitted to Barr. It’s expected to focus on whether President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the election and whether Trump later sought to obstruct the investigation.
Trump has denied any collusion and disparaged the investigation as a “witch hunt.”

The Latest: DOJ: Report doesn’t clear Trump or find crime
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and the special counsel’s Russia investigation. (all times Eastern time):
3:46 p.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller did not exonerate President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice or find that he committed a crime.
That’s according to a summary of Mueller’s findings provided to Congress by the Justice Department.
The summary also says Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates “conspired or coordinated” with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election.
___
3:35 p.m.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says a letter from the Justice Department describing special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings “does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
The department sent the letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Sunday afternoon. Nadler tweeted that the Justice Department “determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment.”
___
3:09 p.m.
The Justice Department has told Congress to expect a summary of Robert Mueller’s findings in the Russia investigation within the hour.
That’s according to two people familiar with the Justice Department’s plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the plans.
__ By Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington.
___
1:35 p.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s “principal conclusions” in the Russia investigation are still expected to be sent to Congress on Sunday.
That’s according to a person familiar with the planned delivery of a letter from Attorney General William Barr.
Barr is expected to summarize a confidential report that Mueller turned in on Friday, concluding his 22-month investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with President Donald Trump’s campaign.
__ By Michael Balsamo and Chad Day in Washington
___
11:55 a.m.
Rep. Jim Jordan has yet to see the special counsel’s report on the Russia investigation, but the Ohio Republican insists it shows no evidence of “coordination, collusion, conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.”
Jordan tells ABC’s “This Week” that “everyone in town” was confident Robert Mueller would lead a thorough investigation.
Jordan says Mueller is seen as “right next to Jesus, he can almost walk on water, this is the guy and – and he will have the definitive statement on that fundamental question.”
He says Democrats are concerned there’ll be no “bombshell” in the report, so they’re pursing more investigations of the president.
Attorney General William Barr received Mueller’s report on Friday and says he’ll give Congress a summary as soon as this weekend.
___
10:50 a.m.
The chairman of the House intelligence committee says he trusts special counsel Robert Mueller’s judgment on who should be prosecuted following the nearly two-year Russia investigation.
But Rep. Adam Schiff of California says that doesn’t mean “there isn’t compelling and incriminating evidence that should be shared with the American people.”
Attorney General William Barr received Mueller’s report on Friday and says he’ll give Congress a summary as soon as this weekend.
Schiff says his committee wants the full report and the underlying materials made public and will head to court to compel Barr to release them.
He says the intelligence committee has an obligation to determine whether the president is compromised in any way, whether criminal or not.
Schiff spoke on ABC’s “This Week.”
___
10:05 a.m.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says Democrats won’t be willing to wait months for the Justice Department to release special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler says Congress and the public deserve to see the underlying evidence, not just a summary of conclusions, to make their own judgments. Attorney General William Barr says he’ll provide that summary as soon as this weekend.
Asked how long Democrats will be willing to wait before considering subpoenas, Nadler says, “It won’t be months.”
The New York Democrat says there has been “collusion” and “obstruction” by Trump and his associates, but “whether it’s criminal is another question.”
He stressed that while Justice Department policy is not to indict a sitting president, Congress has a broader mandate to find abuses of power.
Nadler spoke on CNN and Fox.
___
9:50 a.m.
Presidential spokesman Hogan Gidley says the White House still has not received and has not been briefed on the Russia report issued Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller.
On Sunday, Trump went to the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago resort. He sent a good morning tweet, wishing everyone a great day and another that said: “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” but so far has not commented on the release of the report.
Attorney General William Barr is reviewing the report with his advisers and will be deciding how much Congress and the American public will get to see of the two-year probe into Trump and Moscow’s efforts to elect him. Barr could release his first summary of Mueller’s findings as early as Sunday.
____
2:00 a.m.
Attorney General William Barr is preparing a summary of the findings of the special counsel investigating Russian election interference.
The release of Barr’s summary of the report’s main conclusions is expected sometime Sunday.
The White House says it hasn’t been briefed on Robert Mueller’s confidential report. The nation’s top Democrat, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has told House Democrats that a summary of conclusions won’t be enough as she pressed for the entire report.
Mueller’s 22-month investigation reached its official end on Friday, the day the report was submitted to Barr. It’s expected to focus on whether President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the election and whether Trump later sought to obstruct the investigation.
Trump has denied any collusion and disparaged the investigation as a “witch hunt.”

Movie theater confrontation ends with youth shot in leg
WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — State police say a struggle over a gun in a western Pennsylvania movie theater ended with one youth shot in the leg.
Police in Washington County say six male juveniles were at Regal Cinemas in North Franklin Township just before midnight Saturday “causing a disturbance and continuously moving around and changing their seats.”
Police say other moviegoers asked the teens to remain in their seats. Authorities say one person approached the group and an altercation ensued and spilled into the hallway toward the exit.
Police say a firearm was brandished and a struggle for the gun began, and one of the juveniles was hit in the lower leg when the gun discharged. The victim’s identity and condition wasn’t immediately released.
Authorities say an investigation continues.

Democrats press for full release of Mueller’s report
By ERIC TUCKER, MICHAEL BALSAMO and CHAD DAY Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are pressing for full disclosure of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation and vowing to use subpoena powers and other legal means if necessary to get it.
Attorney General William Barr was expected to release his first summary of Mueller’s findings on Sunday, people familiar with the process said, on what lawmakers anticipated could be a day of reckoning in the two-year probe into President Donald Trump and Russian efforts to elect him. Since receiving the report Friday, Barr has been deciding how much of it Congress and the public will see.
Democrats are on a hair trigger over the prospect that some information may be withheld.
“I suspect that we’ll find those words of transparency to prove hollow, that in fact they will fight to make sure that Congress doesn’t get this underlying evidence,” Rep. Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
His plan: Ask for information and if that’s denied, “subpoena. If subpoenas are denied, we will haul people before the Congress. And yes, we will prosecute in court as necessary to get this information.”
At his resort in Florida, Trump stirred from an unusual, nearly two-day silence on Twitter with the anodyne tweet Sunday morning: “Good Morning, Have a Great Day!” Then followed up: “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Mueller’s investigation is known to have concluded without a recommendation for further indictments after having snared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. It illuminated Russia’s assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.
Although the probe ended without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy by the president, it was not known whether Mueller concluded that the campaign colluded with the Kremlin to tip the election in Trump’s favor.
Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Democrats won’t be willing to wait long for the Justice Department to hand over full information on the probe into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the election and whether the president later sought to obstruct the investigation.
“It won’t be months,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Asked if he still believes Trump obstructed justice, he indicated there has been obstruction but “whether it’s criminal is another question.”
Although Democrats have stoutly defended Mueller’s work against Trump’s repeated cries of “witch hunt,” Schiff was disappointed that the special counsel did not succeed in interviewing the president personally.
“It was a mistake to rely on written responses by the president,” Schiff said, because that yields answers framed more by lawyers than by the subject. He said he was not surprised that Trump’s lawyers resisted having him submit to a personal interview, given that “the president is someone who seems pathologically incapable of telling the truth for long periods of time.”
Also on “This Week,” Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said Democrats faced the prospect of seeing no blockbuster in the Mueller report and were flailing as they try to pin something on the president. They considered Mueller “right next to Jesus, he can almost walk on water,” he said, but “now they’re launching all kind of other charges, all kinds of other investigations.”
Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department, which appointed him.
Mueller was assigned to the job in May 2017 by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw much of his work, and the regulations governing his appointment require that he submit a confidential report to the Justice Department at the conclusion of his investigation. That’s in direct contrast to Starr, who did not report to Justice Department leadership and was empowered to release on his own his exhaustive report detailing his investigation into the relationship between President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.
Barr and Rosenstein analyzed Mueller’s report on Saturday, laboring to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions.
Barr has said he wants to release as much as he can under the law. That decision will require him to weigh the Justice Department’s longstanding protocol of not releasing negative information about people who aren’t indicted against the extraordinary public interest in a criminal investigation into the president and his campaign.
Democrats are citing the department’s recent precedent of norm-breaking disclosures, including during the Hillary Clinton email investigation, to argue that they’re entitled to Mueller’s entire report and the underlying evidence he collected.
Even with the details still under wraps, Friday’s end to the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump’s orbit who had feared a final round of charges could target more Trump associates or members of the president’s family.
The White House sought to keep its distance, saying Sunday it had not been briefed on the report. Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt,” went golfing Saturday and was uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter. Not so one of his guests, musician Kid Rock, who posted a picture with the president and the tweet, “Another great day on the links!” He added: “What a great man, so down to earth and so fun to be with!!”
The conclusion of Mueller’s investigation does not remove legal peril for the president.
He faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election. He’s also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Trump asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the president’s inaugural committee.
In a letter to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the congressional judiciary committees, Barr noted on Friday that the department had not denied any request from Mueller, something Barr would have been required to disclose to ensure there was no political interference. Trump was never interviewed in person by Mueller’s team, but submitted answers to questions in writing.
In a conference call Saturday about next steps, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a warning for his fellow Democrats, some of whom have pinned high political hopes on Mueller’s findings: “Once we get the principal conclusions of the report, I think it’s entirely possible that that will be a good day for the president and his core supporters.”
A number of Trump associates and family members have been dogged by speculation of possible wrongdoing. Among them are Donald Trump Jr., who helped arrange a Trump Tower meeting at the height of the 2016 campaign with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was interviewed at least twice by Mueller’s prosecutors.
All told, Mueller charged 34 people, including the president’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and three Russian companies. Twenty-five Russians were indicted on charges related to election interference, accused either of hacking Democratic email accounts during the campaign or of orchestrating a social media campaign that spread disinformation on the internet.
Five Trump aides pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Mueller and a sixth, longtime confidant Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges that he lied to Congress and engaged in witness tampering.
Peter Carr, spokesman for the special counsel, said Saturday that the case of former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates will be handed off to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Gates was a key cooperator in Mueller’s probe and court papers show he continues to help with several other federal investigations.
Justice Department legal opinions have held that sitting presidents may not be indicted. But many Democrats say Trump should not be immune from a public accounting of his behavior. Though the department typically does not disclose negative information about people who are not indicted, officials have at times broken from that protocol.
Former FBI Director James Comey famously held a July 2016 news conference in which he criticized Clinton as “extremely careless” in her use of a private email server but said the FBI would not recommend charges. The Justice Department also took the extraordinary step of making available to lawmakers the details of a secret surveillance warrant obtained on a Trump campaign aide in the early days of the Russia probe.
___
Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Deb Riechmann in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

Protests held in Pittsburgh after cop cleared in shooting
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The father of a slain black teenager pleaded for peace Saturday after the acquittal of a white police officer triggered an apparent retaliatory shooting at the defense attorney’s office and touched off protests in the streets of Pittsburgh.
Police put officers on 12-hour shifts until further notice.
The verdict late Friday in the deadly shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II angered his family and civic leaders and prompted hundreds of people to gather Saturday afternoon at an intersection called Freedom Corner in the Hill District neighborhood, the historic center of black cultural life in Pittsburgh. One man held a sign with the names of black men killed by police around the U.S.
“It’s very painful to see what happened, to sit there and deal with it,” Rose’s father, Antwon Rose Sr., told the crowd. “I just don’t want it to happen to our city no more.”
Afterward, he told reporters: “I want peace, period, all the way around. … Just because there was violence doesn’t mean that we counter that with violence.”
The mostly white crowd then marched through downtown Pittsburgh and other city neighborhoods, periodically blocking streets as they chanted, “Who did this? Police did this!” The protest soon moved onto the University of Pittsburgh campus. Police reported no immediate arrests or injuries.
Early Saturday, five to eight shots were fired into the building where the officer’s attorney, Patrick Thomassey, works, police in nearby Monroeville said. No one was hurt. Police said they had been staking out the place as a precaution, and the gunfire erupted after they left to answer another call around midnight.
Former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld had been charged with homicide for shooting Rose as the unarmed teenager ran away from a traffic stop in June. Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him and that he fired to protect himself and the community.
“I hope that man never sleeps at night,” Rose’s mother, Michelle Kenney, said of Rosfeld after the verdict, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I hope he gets as much sleep as I do, which is none.”
Rose’s family is now pressing ahead with a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Rosfeld and East Pittsburgh, a small municipality about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Pittsburgh, where the trial was held.
Attorney S. Lee Merritt, who represents Rose’s mother in the litigation, said the verdict was based on Pennsylvania law regarding the use of force that he considers unconstitutional.
“The protest is an appropriate response to injustice,” Merritt said, adding that he believes the state law is why jurors reached their verdict of acquittal.
He also called the shots at Rosfeld’s attorney’s office “an act of cowardice and barbarism that does nothing but perpetuate the stereotypes often used to justify police brutality.”
Thomassey told reporters after the verdict that Rosfeld is “a good man, he is.” The defense attorney said he hopes the city remains calm and “everybody takes a deep breath and gets on with their lives.”
The leaders of two major Pittsburgh charities issued a statement expressing “shock and outrage” over the verdict.
“Pittsburgh now sadly joins a disturbing and ever-growing catalogue of cases across the United States where law enforcement or security officials have walked free after the killings of young black men under questionable circumstances,” wrote Maxwell King, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation, and Grant Oliphant, president of the Heinz Endowments.
“We have asked the question, ‘Would Antwon Rose be alive today if he had been white?’ We, his family and African American community leaders believe that more than likely he would be.”
Pittsburgh was in the spotlight less than five months ago, when a gunman ranting about Jews killed 11 people at a synagogue.
Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that had been involved in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier when Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot the teenager in the back, arm and side of the face. Neither Rose nor another teen in the taxi was holding a weapon when the officer opened fire, though two guns were later found in the vehicle.
Rosfeld had worked for the East Pittsburgh Police Department for only a few weeks and was sworn in just hours before the shooting.
The 12-person jury — including three black members — saw video of the fatal confrontation. The jury took less than four hours to reach a verdict.
Prosecutor Jonathan Fodi argued that the video showed there was no threat to the officer. But a defense expert testified Rosfeld was within his rights to use deadly force to stop suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting.
The prosecution did not call its own use-of-force expert, a decision the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania questioned. But Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, said prosecutors were confident they had what they needed to make their case.
Shortly before the traffic stop, another person in the taxi, Zaijuan Hester, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. He said he, not Rose, did the shooting.
Prosecutors had charged Rosfeld with an open count of homicide, meaning the jury had the option of convicting him of murder or manslaughter.
___
Associated Press journalists Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania, Ramesh Santanam in Pittsburgh and Keith Srakocic in Pittsburgh contributed to this story.
___
This story has been corrected to show that shots were fired into the lawyer’s building early Saturday, not early Friday.

Barr preparing a summary of Mueller report’s key conclusions
By ERIC TUCKER, MICHAEL BALSAMO and CHAD DAY Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr scoured special counsel Robert Mueller’s confidential report on the Russia investigation with his advisers, deciding how much Congress and the American public will get to see about the two-year probe into President Donald Trump and Moscow’s efforts to elect him.
Barr was on pace to release his first summary of Mueller’s findings on Sunday, people familiar with the process said.
The attorney general’s decision on what to finally disclose seems almost certain to set off a fight with congressional Democrats, who want access to all of Mueller’s findings — and supporting evidence — on whether Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the election and whether the president later sought to obstruct the investigation.
No announcement was expected Saturday as Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller and oversaw much of his work, analyzed the report and labored to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions. Mueller delivered his full report to Barr on Friday.
The Russia investigation has shadowed Trump for nearly two years and has ensnared his family and close advisers. And no matter the findings in Mueller’s report, the probe already has illuminated Russia’s assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.
Barr has said he wants to release as much as he can under the law. That decision will require him to weigh the Justice Department’s longstanding protocol of not releasing negative information about people who aren’t indicted against the extraordinary public interest in a criminal investigation into the president and his campaign. Democrats are already citing the department’s recent precedent of norm-breaking disclosures, including during the Hillary Clinton email investigation, to argue that they’re entitled to Mueller’s entire report and the underlying evidence he collected.
Even with the details still under wraps, Friday’s end to the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump’s orbit who had feared a final round of charges could target more Trump associates or members of the president’s family.
The White House sought to keep its distance, saying Saturday it had not been briefed on the report. Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt,” went golfing and was uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter. Not so one of his guests, musician Kid Rock, who posted a picture with the president and the tweet, “Another great day on the links! Thank you to POTUS for having me and to EVERYONE at Trump International for being so wonderful. What a great man, so down to earth and so fun to be with!!”
In a possible foreshadowing of expected clashes between the Justice Department and Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to members that Barr’s offer to provide a summary of principal conclusions was “insufficient.” Pelosi later told Democrats on a conference call that she would reject any kind of classified briefing on the report and that the information must be provided to Congress in a way that would allow lawmakers to discuss it publicly.
The conclusion of Mueller’s investigation does not remove legal peril for the president. He faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election. He’s also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Trump asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the president’s inaugural committee.
As for Mueller, with no details released at this point, it was not known whether he concluded the campaign colluded with the Kremlin to tip the election in favor of the celebrity businessman. A Justice Department official did confirm that Mueller was not recommending any further indictments, meaning the investigation had ended without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy, or of obstruction of justice by the president.
In a letter to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the congressional Judiciary committees, Barr noted on Friday that the department had not denied any request from Mueller, something Barr would have been required to disclose to ensure there was no political inference. Trump was never interviewed in person by Mueller’s team, but submitted answers to questions in writing.
In a Saturday conference call to strategize on next steps, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a warning for his fellow Democrats, some of whom have pinned high political hopes on Mueller’s findings: “Once we get the principal conclusions of the report, I think it’s entirely possible that that will be a good day for the president and his core supporters.”
A handful of Trump associates and family members have been dogged by speculation of possible wrongdoing. They include Donald Trump Jr., who had a role in arranging a Trump Tower meeting at the height of the 2016 campaign with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was interviewed at least twice by Mueller’s prosecutors.
All told, Mueller charged 34 people, including the president’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and three Russian companies. Twenty-five Russians were indicted on charges related to election interference, accused either of hacking Democratic email accounts during the campaign or of orchestrating a social media campaign that spread disinformation on the internet.
Five Trump aides pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Mueller and a sixth, longtime confidant Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges that he lied to Congress and engaged in witness tampering.
Peter Carr, spokesman for the special counsel, said Saturday that the case of former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates will be handed off to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Gates was a key cooperator in Mueller’s probe and court papers show he continues to help with several other federal investigations.
Justice Department legal opinions have held that sitting presidents may not be indicted. But many Democrats say Trump should not be immune from a public accounting of his behavior. Though the department typically does not disclose negative information about people who are not indicted, officials have at times broken from that protocol.
Former FBI Director James Comey famously held a July 2016 news conference in which he criticized Hillary Clinton as “extremely careless” in her use of a private email server but said the FBI would not recommend charges. The Justice Department also took the extraordinary step of making available to lawmakers the details of a secret surveillance warrant obtained on a Trump campaign aide in the early days of the Russia probe.
___
Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Deb Riechmann in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

Verdict reached in trial of white cop who killed black teen
By RAMESH SANTANAM Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A jury reached a verdict  of  not guilty Friday night in the trial of a white former police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teen fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh.
Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld fired on 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer outside Pittsburgh in a killing that sparked weeks of unrest.
Jurors informed the court Friday night that they had reached a verdict of not guilty.
Rosfeld, 30, shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger got out and began running away.
Jurors saw video of the fatal confrontation, which showed Rose falling to the ground after being hit.
Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi declared in his closing argument Friday that Rosfeld had acted as “judge, jury and executioner.”
Rosfeld could have waited for backup or given chase, Fodi said, adding that teenagers sometimes run from police. “Is it foolish? Yes. Does it deserve death? No. Is it reasonable? Absolutely not,” Fodi said. “There was no need to use deadly force.”
Rosfeld told the jury he thought Rose or the other passenger had a gun. The defense said the shooting was justified because Rosfeld believed he was in danger and couldn’t wait for other officers to get there.
“He’s a sitting duck,” defense attorney Patrick Thomassey told jurors in his closing, asking them to consider “the standard of what a reasonable police officer would do under the circumstances.”
The defense asked Judge Alexander Bicket to acquit Rosfeld, but the judge declined.
“We believe the jury has enough information to arrive at the right conclusion: that Antwon Rose was murdered,” the family’s attorney, S. Lee Merritt, told The Associated Press in a courthouse hallway. Merritt said “it’s pretty obvious” Rose was not a threat to Rosfeld.
Rose had been riding in the front seat of the cab when another occupant in the back, Zaijuan Hester, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. A few minutes later, Rosfeld spotted their car, which had its rear windshield shot out, and pulled it over.
Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. Hester told a judge that he, not Rose, did the shooting.
At the beginning of the trial’s fourth day Friday, a defense expert, retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Clifford W. Jobe Jr., returned to the stand and repeated his belief that Rosfeld followed his training when he shot Rose.
Under cross-examination, Jobe agreed with Fodi that a police officer can lie, violate the law or be unreasonable. He also agreed with the prosecutor that, in some circumstances, it is reasonable to refrain from shooting or to disengage from a situation.
But Jobe said that Rosfeld was within his rights to use “deadly force” to stop fleeing suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting.
“What did Michael Rosfeld do wrong on June the 19th?” asked Thomassey, the defense attorney.
“I don’t think he did anything wrong. He was following his training,” Jobe replied.
A day earlier, Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose or the other passenger had pointed a weapon at him. Neither teen was holding a gun at the time, though two guns were later found in the car.
“It happened very quickly,” Rosfeld said. “My intent was to end the threat that was made against me.”
Prosecutors say Rosfeld has given inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose was armed.
A prosecution witness has said that after the shooting, he heard Rosfeld say repeatedly, “I don’t know why I shot him. I don’t know why I fired.” Another prosecution witness said he heard the officer ask, “Why did he do that? Why did he take that out of his pocket?”
In his closing, Fodi said the video evidence shows “there was no threat” to Rosfeld, who he said “squared up” on the taxi “with plenty of time to do something about it.”
“We don’t shoot first and ask questions later,” Fodi said.
But Thomassey said prosecutors did not produce a single witness “to say Michael Rosfeld did not do what he was supposed to do. They knew he was doing it by the book.”
One juror, a white woman who had taken copious notes, was dismissed from the panel Friday and replaced with a white man. No reason was given for her dismissal. The jury now consists of seven men and five women. There are three black jurors.
Also Friday, Bicket lifted a gag order he imposed on the parties in the case. Thomassey made the request, saying that while he and prosecutors had abided by the judge’s order, the attorney for Rose’s family had not. Merritt released a letter to the media this week that Rose’s mother wrote to prosecutors urging them to show what a “kind, loving and funny” person her son was.

PENNDOT HAS JUST ANNOUNCED ITS LIST OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO TELLS US WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA FOR BEAVER COUNTY. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

An Aliquippa man is accused of choking a woman until she passed out this week. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has the story. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…